Watkins Glen II: Michael Shank Racing preview

Michael Shank Racing gunning for Glen success
(Columbus, OH) 8 August 06--Michael Shank Racing will be back in
action this week, campaigning a two-car effort in the Crown Royal 200 at
Watkins Glen. The race will run Friday evening as part of...

Michael Shank Racing gunning for Glen success

(Columbus, OH) 8 August 06--Michael Shank Racing will be back in
action this week, campaigning a two-car effort in the Crown Royal 200 at
Watkins Glen. The race will run Friday evening as part of the NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series visit to the upstate New York 2.45-mile natural terrain
road course.

Michael Shank Racing enters the race weekend riding a wave, having scored
three straight top-tens with both team entries in the last three rounds
of Rolex Sports Car Series competition. With a strong track record at the
Glen, the team is eager to put their proven set-ups at the track to work
with the new specification Lexus motor, which debuted at Barber
Motorsports park and delivered instant results as the mount proved both
powerful and miserly with fuel.

The team's chances are further bolstered by the fact that all four
team drivers have appeared on the Watkins Glen podium in Daytona
Prototype competition.

Burt Frisselle, who scored a podium in this event racing with the team in
2004, will be re-joining Michael Shank Racing, teaming with Mike
Borkowski in the No. 6 Playboy Racing/Mears Motor Coach Lexus Riley.
Borkowski savored victory in Daytona Prototype competition at the track
in 2003 and also held the track record in the class.

The No. 60 Flight Options Lexus-Riley of Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson
took a podium at Watkins Glen last year in just the third start together
for the duo.

The two-hour Glen event is the second shortest of the 2006 Rolex season,
and the short-course configuration will see the Daytona Prototypes carry
an average speed of nearly 120 mph in qualifying.

"Things can happen quickly at the Glen, and especially in this
race," said team owner Mike Shank. "This is a track where we
have traditionally had some good speed right off the truck, and hopefully
that will be the case again this weekend. We're really excited
about the package we have and just want to keep making progress on the
championship with both cars."

The positive results have seen both Michael Shank Racing entries
strengthen their respective positions in the team championships, with the
Playboy Racing/Mears Motor Coach machine looking to improve from twelfth
in the standings while the Flight Options entry will work to move up from
eighth as the Rolex Series enters its final three rounds. Mark Patterson
also continues to lead the Trueman Award standings, with a sixty-one
point advantage over Rob Finley.

"Getting to the podium with Mark at the Glen last year was a real
high-to get such a strong result so early in our partnership," said
Negri. "The Rolex Series gets more competitive every round we race,
and the team has continued to work really hard to keep raising our game
with every aspect of what we do, and it would be great to be back on the
podium again this weekend."